Strange eerie sounds echoing through an abandoned house.
Mysterious footsteps dancing across an empty floor. Howls and cries... a warning from beyond the
grave?? A doorway to another world opening for you?? Do
you believe in ghosts, poltergeists, banshees, apparitions, spooks,
specters, spirits, and things that go bump in
the night??? Well, I believe.

The main reason why so many people seem intrigued by the
supernatural and in particular, ghosts, is our thirst for proof of
life after death. This play on the hopes that life will go on forever,
whether it is in this world, heaven, or hell. "Ashes
to ashes and dust to dust", just doesn't seem to cut it
anymore. Public ghosts hunts, sťances, and exorcisms are become
more and more a part everyday life. You could call it end of the millennium hysteria,
but as the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
approach the
subject of ghosts and hauntings has never been more popular.

For that reason and many
more, we have established this section of the House. We have provided for
your viewing pleasure "Films that
Go
Bump in the Night". Although
these films may not always be the most frightening, they will play on your fear of the
unknown, make you think you see things that aren't really there, and keep
you awake at night. So turn off the light and enjoy!!!!!!

Would you spend a
night in the House on Haunted Hill, a place notorious for death, for $10,000?
Over the years, seven people have met their untimely end there and Fredrick Loren
(Vincent Price), an eccentric millionaire, has assembled
five complete strangers for this simple challenge. Watson Prichard's (Elisha
Cook, Jr.), a former survivor of the House, knows all too well that ... "Only the ghosts
... are glad we're
here".

The plot thickens as we are introduced to Loren sultry wife, Annabelle (Carol
Ohmart), a women who would like nothing better than to see her husband dead. As the witching
hour quickly approaches, Fredrick
gives his guest one last chance to get out , " It's almost time to lock up the house and then your party will really
begin. I
wonder how it will end..." The door slams shut before anyone has
a chance to change their mind.

Strange occurrences begin happening (i.e. blood dripping from the
ceiling, a witch, a severed head, etc) to the guests, in particular, young and innocent Nora (Carolyn
Craig). Lorne, being the the courtesy party host, provides his guests with a
few party
favors, including a pistol in a miniature coffin, to be used in protection against
the ghosts and possibly each other. All the while, Annabelle is devising a way
to kill her husband and now she has the perfect weapon, a frightened Nora with a loaded gun.
The end comes with traditional William Castle gimmickry, but who
will fall victim to this house?

This is classic Vincent Price. The film came out the same year as another
Price vehicle "The Fly", but "The
House on Haunted Hill" was far more successful at the box office
and in hearts of many fans. William Castle ("The Tingler", "Macabre"
and "13 Ghost") directed this film continuing his reign as the "king of the schlock". He made his movies
into
more than just a viewing, but rather an experience in
cinematic terror. On this particular film, he employed a gimmick called "Emergo".
At the end, when someone falls (I won't say who) into the vat of acid, "a
skeleton on a wire who trundled out over the audience". Price later remarked
that at it's
opening in San Francisco, " a stampede occurred taken out the first eight
rows of seats".

A car full of young women. A car full of young men, who challenge said women
to a drag race. Not a good idea, as shown when the female- occupied car careens off a bridge and sinks into a muddy river in the pre-credits sequence to
"Carnival of Souls." Nobody survives, you think? That's what the rescue
personnel summoned to the scene think, at least until, hours after the fact, a lone figure crawls up onto the shore. It's Mary (Candace
Hilligoss), who
turns out to be the sole survivor of the wreck. Strangely unfazed by the experience, she promptly says goodbye to her job as a Kansas-based organist
and moves out to Salt Lake City for employment with a local church.

Now the fun begins; as she drives through the desert at night, she spots an abandoned, run-down pavilion. Simultaneously, she sees a strange, pale
man (director Herk Harvey, in an uncredited role) reflected in the car window, looking at her. Freaky? Well it isn't long before poor Mary starts seeing him
everywhere. Worse still, nobody else can see him, and now she starts to feel a certain, indescribable urge drawing her towards the pavilion. But the man is
closing in on Mary. What's happening to her? Is she insane, trapped in a world of her own mind? Is she haunted, cursed with her own personal ghost? Is
she already dead, stuck in limbo between two worlds? Or is it something else?

Although it may be unintentional, there's a definite
psychological/ philosophical edge to the picture. Herk Harvey is so subtle that you barely even think about,
even after the ending. "Carnival of Souls" is a definite director's picture,
and it's a pity that this is Harvey's only film. He creates a masterfully creepy
atmosphere that few horror films anywhere have been able to emulate. Although the
$30,000 budget often shows, and many of the actors clearly have little (read no) experience, this one still shines. It's the perfect example of low-budget,
high-imagination creation, and one of the only real independent horror classics to come along before
"Halloween", "Night of the Living
Dead", "Evil Dead" and the rest created giant waves on the screen. An all-time classic, deserving
of every fan's time. Guest
Contributor....Jeremy
Lunt.

Is it possible for a house to be born bad? In this
case, most definitely for it's violent history has been marred by
scandal, murder, insanity, and suicide. "The
dead are not quiet in Hill House".

Dr. John Markway (Richard Johnson ("Zombie")
, an anthropologist, leads a team of psychic researchers into Hill House to
investigate the strange phenomena
that haunts this place. Along with him are the skeptical and young Luke (Russ
Tamblyn), an unbeliever who stands to inherit the
house, the sultry and clairvoyant Theodora
(Claire Bloom), and the insecure and lonely Eleanor (Julie Harris),
who strangely feels at home in this dark place. As Luke's doubt grows,
Markway warns "A closed mind is the worst
defense against the supernatural".

Strange noises (i.e. pounding walls, pulsating doors, and a crying child)
haunt these chilling halls calling out for Eleanor. This is furthered when Luke
finds a message (help Eleanor come home)
scrawled on the walls. "Why am I being singled
out?", wonders Eleanor as her repulsion and love for this
place seems to grow with each passing moment. At the same time, her
madness continues as she struggles with a new found affection for Markway, all
the while as Theo (who has her eyes on Eleanor) and Luke continue to pick upon her unraveling
mind.

As the supernatural activities persist, Markway's wife Grace (Lois Maxwell)
arrives unexpectedly trying to convince her husband to abandon his
far-fetched experiment. When she threatens to spend the night in
the nursery, the cold heart of the haunting presence, Markway remarks "this is a
deadly serious place". She refuses his warnings, unknowingly
daring the house to show itself as she prepares for bed, but Eleanor won't let
anyone take her place. Who will survive "The
Haunting"???

This the quid-essential "haunted house"
film. Directed by Robert Wise ("West Side
Story") from the Shirley Jackson's novel "The
Haunting of Hill House" and masterful scripting of Nelson
Giddings, "The Haunting" is a
instant classic and one all horror fans need to see. This film succeeds for so
many reasons beyond those mentioned above. First, the camera work of Davis Boulton is exquisite in making this a believable and very spooky film. Since,
special effects weren't what they are today, films like "The
Haunting" relied heavily on feeding on the "unknown".
That which you do not see is so much more effective, than any
fake-looking CGI monster or spirit. Second, the cast was spectacular. Made of
virtual unknowns, it is really their characterization of the personalizes
and emotions Jackson developed and Giddings expanded on in his script that help
bring this film to life. Finally, along with the masterful directing of Robert
Wise, another key to the success of this film was the
wonderful acting of Julie Harris. This study in the deterioration of a young
women already on the brink of self-destruction was magnificent and Harris
portrayal was a landmark role not only in our genre, but in the history of cinema.
If you haven't seen "The Haunting",
rent it immediately.